This is a blog post from my clients a family of 5, Grandmother, Daughter and Husband, and their 2 daughters, 7 and 10 regarding a tour I arranged for them in Jordon. I have been arranging special events for them on their voyage and do the same for many of my clients.
One of the most important reasons that I travel is to be able to experience different things myself so I can properly describe them to you but also to gain valuable contacts in all areas of the world. I do this with hotel property owners and managers, tour operators, restaurants, transportation people, guides, etc. So that I can set special things up for you or recommend ideas outside of the normal experiences you might expect.
You would also be surprised that in most cases they will cost you less than ship tours, be more exclusive and flexible to your needs, memorable etc.
In the case here I have not yet personally been to Petra BUT I was in Egypt last year and spent 2 days getting to know our Tour Operator Owner through Egypt and when this came up for my clients I asked him who he would recommend. He personally knows, works with and recommends him so I contacted him and we went from there setting this up for my family. I am happy to read it was such a hit.
4/3/11
Aqaba, Jordan
Margot set up our tour today through Nancy Real, our travel agent. Elaina (the only other kid on board), Marsue (her mother) and Marianne (her teacher), came with us today. Our itinerary for the day was the ancient city of Petra (made famous by Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) and Wadi Rumm.
Our driver, Rushdi, met us on the dock at 7am with a van that sat all of us comfortably. We were all happy not to be on another big bus. The only drawback to making our own plans is that the ship will not wait for us if we are late. Rushdi spoke perfect English and shockingly, he spoke Hungarian too. Apparently, many Hungarians come to Jordan for vacation. Rushdi told us all about Jordan as we drove north to Petra.
Jordan does not have as much oil income as other Arab nations, but their King spends a lot of money on the infrastructure and the people. The roads were very good, and everyone has a home. It was very surreal riding down a modern freeway and passing a man on a camel. After an hour we left the freeway and took a secondary road that wound through the mountains. Jordan is desert too, but it is a much different landscape than Egypt. It reminds me more of the painted desert of Arizona.
Along the way we passed many genuine Bedouin camps. There would be three to five big tents with camels and donkeys around them, and somewhere in the area would be the Bedouins herding their goats.
We came around one corner and we could see the entire Petra Valley below us. It was like a smaller version of the Grand Canyon. Rushdi set us up with a guide in Petra and gave Kathy a cell phone with his number programmed in it. When we were done looking around in Petra we were to give him a call and he would pick us up at the main entrance, but he said we should be back no later than 3pm so we would not be late for the rest of our tour. That gave us 5 hours to explore Petra, which I thought would be plenty, but man was I wrong.
From the main entrance you can ride horses down to the canyon entrance (about ¾ of a mile) and everyone except our guide and I rode them. The canyon, is really a crack in the rock that is only 10 feet to 30 feet wide and it is the main entrance to the city of Petra. Our guide told us all about the history of Petra, and pointed out the old aqueducts that were carved into the canyon walls. We had to get out of the way for the horse and buggies that were taking people through the canyon.
After zigzagging our way through this narrow canyon for over a mile and a half our guide asked us to stop for something very special. He told us that the next section of the canyon was revered by the ancient Nubians, and that we should all bow our heads and look at the ground as we walked through it, as a sign of respect. We all complied, and after about 20 yards he gathered us all in a group, pointed us all in the same direction and told us to look up. When we did, we could see the famous treasury building ahead of us through the slit of the canyon. It was amazing. At this point the canyon opened up, and there were gifts shops and men selling camel rides (I don’t remember any of that in Indiana Jones).
I had no Idea how big Petra was though. We walked for almost two more miles and the canyon became a valley and the valley was lined with carved buildings and tombs. Our guide told us that until 1989, the local Bedouins were living in the caves. The Jordanian government made new houses and gave them special privileges in park. We had lunch in a café that was part of an old Petra building carved into the canyon wall. Our guide left us at this point and told us we could explore at our own leisure.
There were miles and miles of trails to other parts of the old city, but we had already spent three and half hours in Petra, and we needed an hour and a half to get back out. Margot and Marsue rode donkeys back to the halfway point while the rest of us walked. Then the two of them rode a carriage the rest of the way out of the canyon.
Rushdi picked us up outside of the front gates and we headed towards Wadi Rumm. About an hour and a half later, while we were driving down the freeway, Rushdi pulled off into a gas station and parked next to two pick-up trucks. He told us that the trucks would be our rides through the Wadi Rumm desert, and that he would meet us afterwards for dinner. Margot sat in the front seat of the truck, while all the rest of us sat in the bed, and then we started off into the desert.
Wadi Rumm is also a national park, and it has steep granite and limestone cliffs rising out of the desert floor. We stopped at a sand dune and climbed up to get an amazing view of the desert. The driver also stopped at a granite cliff to show us the ancient drawings on the rock, and at a natural rock bridge.
When we left the rock bridge, the truck started sounding funny. We had only driven about a mile when the engine on the truck stopped all together. I got out with the driver, and we determined that the timing chain had broken. There was some minor panic from our group, because we were in the middle of the desert with no signs of civilization, the driver was having problems finding a cell signal, and the ship was going to leave in 5 hours. The driver walked off over the hill to try and get a better cell signal and the kids got out of the truck and played around in the desert.
Luckily, the temperature was very mild, about 70 degrees, but it was cooling down fast as the sun set. Just as we thought we had been abandoned, the driver came back and told us that his friend would be coming for us in about 10 minutes. I wanted to know how he gave him directions. “We are in the desert, next to a big rock.”
Megan complained that she was getting cold, so the driver gathered up some weeds and piled them under a dry bush and then lit the whole thing on fire. Amazingly, his friend showed up a few minutes later and picked us all up. We had only been stranded in the desert for about 45 minutes. Because of our delay, the new driver drove much faster to get us to our dinner on time. We were flying over the sand and rocks, and all the kids in the back of the truck started humming the Indiana Jones theme, as they were bounced around. We arrived at the desert camp and thanked both drivers profusely for an amazing adventure. Rushdi was waiting for us, and wondered why we were late. We explained what happened and he led us into the tent where we were having dinner.
Normally dinner would have served outside, but the temperature was quite low tonight. Dinner did not start for another 30 minutes, so Rushdi showed us around the camp.
There were about 100 tents set up for tourists to spend the night in the desert. The 1st one he showed us was the standard tent, which had to beds and a light. Then he showed us the royal suite tent, which had 8 beds, two tables with food and drink, and a fully tiled bathroom with toilet and shower. From the outside it looked just like an ordinary tent.
After the tents we were shown how they were cooking dinner. They used drums buried in the sand to cook the meat and rice. They pulled out the food and we went back inside to eat. The food was awesome! Unfortunately we did not have time to see the entertainment after dinner, because we had to get back to the ship.
Rushdi got us back to the ship with time to spare. We were so tired after our 15 hour day, that we went straight to bed. I had no idea there was so much to do and see in Jordan. We will have to come back, and I would highly recommend to anyone a visit here.
Thank you so much, Nancy for setting up this special day for our family. We will never forget it.
